Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-01-27
THE skJAEGGEDAhFoss.
The Great Waterfall of Norway EN-
piOred and Enjoyed.

piOred and Enjoyed.
Fv ~ The 81. Louis G2o5e- Dsnoc,Gt.
II the glacier were not enough to hold
one at Odle, there is the long drive be-
yond the Sandvand, where the cliffs are
striped with waterfalls all the way aud
the road takes one through the spray and
mist OF many OF them, and beyond all
there ls the Skjaeggedaltoss. The Skjaeg-
gedatosS is the great waterfall OF Nor
way, but it is as difficult to reach 1t as TO
pronounce its name. II has taken us all
our weeks IN Norway TO pronounce the
warning syllabies and to be able to spell
the name when suddenly called upon, but
we meekly abandoned going to it when
the route was described, as II was
an alienation OF rOwboatirg and
mountain climbing, aad an Eng-
lish gil with foot and bro
gans Ike a mans said that it had not
paid her 10 rise al O'clock IN the morn
ing and trudge all day over wild Ooulders.
The jaeggedaltoss only tumDles $50
feet anyhow, ana is at its best when fed
by the melting SHOWS of MAY. 1t s
poor prIze 10 attain by such Efforts when
one mas seen the big Yosemite in periec-
ton, although we sat silent one day while
some Eugiisnmen across the dinner table
compared the SkaeggedaIIoss with the
Schalinausen Falls OF the Rhine, and one
OF them insptly said:
800! but you know there Is some
waterfall IN the West OF America higher
than the akjseggedaifoss, not Niagara,
though"
W here is it?" asked his companion.
"ln America" spOnded the oracle.
ON, .tnat doe sn't count, you know"
said TIE Homer Englishmau: ''this is the
highest tall in Europe" and the accent
on tue word Europe just swept ali
America off the globe and shut the door
on 1t.
There was worse Euglishman, though,
who began tue conversation at another
dinner table by asking the demure look.
ing young lady OF our party where she
WAS gong next. A genius was planning
our route and marking out lar reaching
schedule of excursions, drives and steam
boat connections, and the Englshman
could not understand now we would man.
age some of the connections. He pOred
over timetable to Inform ner
when a certain steamer would start,
and vouchsaed information that We
had made sure of some days earlier. He
did not know that the demure young
woman carried an unquenchable hatred
of the English under her innocent face,
and it amused me beyond everything to
see how the English always Tell to her lot,
chose her TO converse with, and made all
their extraordinary remarks TO her. This
Englishman began cr0ss-questioning her
as to where she had been and what she
had seen, with MIND solely bent on re-
proving an American.
Nv hen you were at Vosse Naugen did
you see the falls?" he asked benignly.
Now, there are no tails at Vosse Vaugen,
but our little American was trItle be-
wlldered, and looked around for help, and
inquired OF us, ''Did we?' None of us
could trust ourselves to speak, but shook
our heads and kept serious faces.
probably not" said the Englshman,
more mplacently than ever, and when
he learned all about our route through
the rest OF The Hardanger, and that we
would not get off at UlvIk to climb for
four hours to see one small waterfall, he
turned, and with crushing emphasis,
said: IL suppose you will look at the
ford"
Ii was of this same demure girl that an
En2lIshman mad asked only the day be-
fore: Nv mere are he Rocky Mountains,
anyhow Don't they separate Canada
from the United States somewhere?'
Add on another day a Brlusher Sc
lecteu her out of eight Americans in a
row to ask ID all seriousness: ais il true
that IN America the houses are built on
wheels, and thatyOu move them around"
She had been baited by the English all
that day, soHearily responded: "Oh, yes.
They are all built that way, especially in
New York. We always 20 down To the
seashOre ID our house every summer"
The BrItOn looked bewllueTed WHEN we
all smiled, and he said. half apOlogetl-
cally: Upon my word, Pve been told so
by some fellows who had been there"
WanderiAgM tae eHardAnger ford is
an endiessA &Ebg msnt, aud, tor all the
slabs OF the EuEIs VINO wanted US
Just to look at IT, - we found that we
were doing it more aeisurely than other
people, and gtvta=~ttp 50 much time to 1t
that summer would be leaving US before
We were ready to leave the GOrds and
drive across country In carrloles.s From
Eide at the end of the Craven ford
we had one last look at the lovely
Hardanger, and drove up past an en-
chanting lake, the Gravensand, TO the
valley where the Skjervef0ss tumDles and
roars. Along the Gravensand the road
clings to the base OF the cliffs that rise
abruptly lrcm the water, and in one place
the road is blasted in under the over
hanging rock, and a shed roof carries off
the spray and side stream OF q little
fail that there takes leap Into the lake.
AS the valley nRrrows the tremendous
walls grow in height as they approach
under the narrow amphitheatTe at the
end. the SkJerVefoss takes its first long
plunge and then dashes down In snowy
cataracts and swift stream TO the lake
beyond. The post road that climbs aud
clings to the walls OF the narrow valley,
crosses the failing stream by stone arches
and finally reaches the higher valley be-
gond, is a marvel OF engineering skill, and
but for seeing the wonderful zig
Gags and windings one could
not believe il possible 10
lead highway along that nearly uerpen-
dIcuiar wall. The valley was full OF pic
ttresqueness on the ideal, sunny, sum
mer dav that we took second turn
through it, and IN every hay FIELD and All
along the roadside were groups Of tue
country people AT work with scyrhes ana
grass HOOKS and rakes. Toe women gave
the proper touch 10 these buc0ic pictures
by wearing the white OiOuoes ana gay red
or green bOdces OF tho old Hardanger
costume. and each group was a better
model for a painter than the last one.
These sturdy UarJBnger women were
turning the hay and laying 10 Uu tue nigh
racks to dry, for in the Hardanger II
rained on every daY Of the month Of July,
and August has been buL little better.
All their hay IS cured in this way on
racks, and as soon as the grass Is CUT the
poles and cross pieces are SET up and the
grass spread on It 30 as TO shed the rain
while It slowly dries.
though 0u Rats